


Bourbon and Good Company

by alicedragons



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (Past BBAU anyway), Conversations, Demon AU, Demon Rus, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Illiteracy, M/M, Mild Angst, Mostly lighthearted fic, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Slow Burn, bad brother au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-05 05:33:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14610510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alicedragons/pseuds/alicedragons
Summary: Edge had spent years thinking about that night—trying so hard to remember the details that were just out of his grasp. Wondering—how? Why? Trying to recall the face of the creature that hadkilled his brothersaved him. And here it was. Right before him. Offering him all the answers he’d craved for so many years.Demons do make for excellent company after all.





	1. Remembering the past

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CheapBourbon (blank_ghost)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blank_ghost/gifts), [Lady_Kit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Kit/gifts).



> Based on [this lovely piece of artwork by Cheapbourbon](https://itsladykit.tumblr.com/post/173639040179/cheapbourbon-why-dontcha-pick-on-someone-your) and further inspired by the awesome drabble Kit wrote for it.

Edge surveyed the demon from a safe distance, his sockets narrowed. For a creature fabled to be so mighty and feared, the demon was rather… unimpressive. Almost comedic fluffy pink slippers aside—the slouch of his shoulders and his drab clothes were quite underwhelming. Trapped inside the summoning circle, he leaned back against Edge’s bed and drew his knees to his chest, tilting his glass in toast. Edge lifted a brow bone as he tipped the drink back and immediately grimaced. Placing it sourly on the floor beside him, he said, “so, you wanna talk? talk.”

Edge drew himself up, shifting in his chair. He’d drawn the curtains over the window, not eager to have to explain to his neighbours why he had a demon in his bedroom. He could hear the snow pelting against the windowpane outside and he shivered in spite of the warm fire crackling in the hearth. The demon’s deep, fiery eyes seemed to pierce him, and he was suddenly very conscious of the scar striking through his left eye socket. He poured himself a second glass of bourbon before he began to talk. “I… I want to know why you helped me,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “All those years ago.”

“no beating around the bush with you, is there?” The demon smirked when Edge frowned. Folding his arms on top his knees, he said, “well, i should tell you, i don’t do things for free—so if you want answers, i want something in return.”

“You didn’t request any payment when you k—helped me before,” Edge pointed out.

The demon shrugged. “you were a kid.”

“Is that why you did it, then? Because I was a helpless kid?”

The demon opened his mouth, then hesitated. Chuckling, he leaned back and shook his head. “almost got me there.” Tilting his skull, the demon examined Edge closely, his deep golden eyes flickering as they passed over the old scar across Edge’s eye socket. “tell you what—you answer my questions, i’ll answer yours. fair deal?”

Edge was reluctant to make any sort of ‘deal’ with the demon—no matter how small. He’d read enough to understand how fickle these creatures could be, and how easily they could weave their way into your mind and soul with their words alone.

But Edge had spent years thinking about that night—trying _so hard_ to remember the details that were just out of his grasp. Wondering—how? _Why?_ Trying to recall the face of the creature that had ~~killed his brother~~ saved him. And here it was. Right before him. Offering him all the answers he’d craved for so many years.

With little deliberation, he nodded. “Deal.”

The demon’s teeth curled into a smile and Edge immediately wondered if he’d just made a horrible mistake. “wonderful,” the demon said. “so you want to know why i saved you?”

“Yes,” Edge said, eagerly.

The demon shrugged. “you were a helpless kid.” He smirked at the irritated look Edge shot him. “my turn. what do you do for a living?” Edge blinked, surprised by the simplicity of the question. The demon surveyed the numerous stacks of books on Edge’s shelves lining the wall. “librarian?” the demon guessed.

“Teacher…” Edge said slowly, frowning. “Why—why do you care?”

The demon grinned, lifting a brow bone. “that your next question?”

“N-no!” Edge said quickly. “But—”

“question for a question—that’s our deal.”

Frustrated at the amount of amusement the demon seemed to be drawing from his little game, Edge cleared his throat, sniffing primly. “Fine. Then…” Edge considered, his soul growing heavy. “My… brother.” The word was barely a whisper, but the humour immediately vanished from the demon’s expression.

“what about him?” he asked, darkly.

“You—” Edge inhaled shakily, taking a long sip of his bourbon before saying, “You… killed him.” The demon was silent, but his gaze was fixed on Edge. He nodded tightly. Edge thought for a moment he could see flames dancing in his bright golden eye-lights.

_He could almost remember the smell of charred bone._

“Why?”

_And then the fire was out._

The demon shrugged, astoundingly nonchalant once again. “he was a dick.” Edge opened his mouth to question the demon further, but he was already speaking again. “so, all these books? you like to read?”

Edge spluttered, briefly stunned by the complete one-eighty. “I—yes?”

The demon smiled and stood up, dusting himself off. “i’d love to hear you read sometime.” Edge stared at the creature as he approached the rim of the circle, as close to Edge as the lines would allow. “it was lovely meeting you—again—but i’m afraid our time together has run out.”

“W-wait!” Edge reached out to stop the demon, before quickly withdrawing, realising himself. Nonetheless, the demon turned, giving him a quizzical look. “What… what’s your name?” Edge asked. The question felt strange—did the demon even have a name?

Smirking, the demon folded his arms. “if i tell you that, i’m afraid i’ll have to kill you.”

Edge took an involuntary step back. “What?”

The demon held his composure for only a few seconds before he snorted, pressing a hand over his mouth. “i suppose i’ll spare you this time—you can call me rus,” he said, grinning. He then turned and walked to the centre of the circle, looking at Edge over his shoulder. “oh, and—you owe me another answer, love.” Without another word, he had vanished in a crackle of flames and magic.

Edge watched the spot where he’d been standing for a few seconds—reminding himself to breathe. Something had unknotted in his chest. He felt somehow lighter than he had before drawing the pentagram on the tarp he’d laid out on his bedroom floor. And most importantly— _it was all true._

The demon was real.


	2. Nightmares and Fairytales

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up from a nightmare can be an unpleasant experience.  
> Thankfully, Edge has an on-call ~~friend~~ demon to talk to.

Edge’s fingers trembled around the piece of chalk. He inhaled, wiping the sweat from his skull as he climbed to his feet, comparing the pentagram to the one drawn in his book. Not trusting his control over his magic, he cut a small fissure in his bone with his letter opener and let the magic drip onto the lines of the circle.

Magic flared and Edge stepped back, flames dancing before his eyes.

_Scorching, hot fire, the sound of screaming._

The demon’s easy smile faded when he saw Edge’s face, and his eyes darted to the cut on his hand. “did someone hurt you?” he asked, with sobriety. “do we need to make a deal?”

Edge slumped back into his desk chair, shaking his head. “No. I just… want to talk.” Rus nodded, though his fiery eyes still searched Edge’s face, his tail flicking agitatedly. “Drink?” Edge asked, removing the cap from his decanter.

Rus pulled a face. “got anything sweeter? my palate isn’t quite so fond of anything that tastes like it could be used to sanitize a bathroom.”

Edge cocked a brow bone as he poured himself a glass of bourbon; his hand was still unsteady, the glass quivering in his hand. “You’re a demon,” he said, flatly.

“and that excludes me from having taste buds?”

“You’re also a skeleton…”

Rus sighed and sat on the floor, crossing his legs. “if you have any chocolate, that would be nice—or those lemon sweets they have in england.” He frowned, growing somber. “though somehow, you don’t strike me as someone who stocks anything that contains more than a grain of sugar.”

Edge opened his mouth to respond but Rus cut him off. “so what have you been up to? it’s been a while. how’s the teaching going?”

Edge sat immobile for a moment, glass of bourbon still clutched in his hand. “I…”

“oh and you have to answer by the way—i’m cashing in my question.”

Edge stared at Rus, who prompted him with a lift of his brow bone. “It’s been… fine.” He took a sip of his bourbon, frowning. “Busy. But good.”

Rus nodded, leaning back on his hands and lifting his knees up to his chest. “and the nightmares? when did they start up again?”

Edge coughed, choking on his drink. “H-how…?”

“you’re shaking.” Rus examined him, tilting his head, but Edge quickly looked away.

“It’s not your turn to ask a question,” he countered, his voice tight.

Rus shrugged and settled with his arms around his knees, his tail curling at his feet. “alright then—“ a glance at the clock “—it’s three am, what question is so important that it’s keeping you up at night? hit me, teach.”

Edge stiffened, hiding his surprise at the casual nickname. “Well…” He took another sip of his drink—then downed the entire glass for good measure. “What…” his gaze wandered to the bookshelf behind the demon as he scrambled for a question. “What’s your favourite book?”

Rus blinked, clearly taken off guard by the question. “you sure you don’t want to know something else? the secret to the universe, perhaps?”

Edge regarded him blandly. “You know the secret to the universe?”

“no, but i bet i could come up with a pretty convincing lie,” Rus said, smirking.

Edge shook his head, rolling his eye-lights. “Favourite book. Tell me.”

Rus looked awkward. “uh, well... you probably haven’t heard of it.”

“What is it? Some demonic fable?”

“no, but, it’s sort of niche. i haven’t run into many people who have read it.” Rus’s eyes were on the floor; he smiled to himself. “it’s called the thousand and one nights. do you know it?”

Edge had to repress a snort in his sleeve, and he hurriedly poured himself a second glass of bourbon, hiding his face. “I have.”

Rus’s face lit up. “you have?”

Edge nodded, smiling. “It’s a classic.”

Rus’s eyes brightened, glinting with gold. The tip of his tail swished and curled around his ankle. “would you… read it to me, sometime?”

“I have a copy,” Edge said, nodding at his bookshelf. “I could lend it to you, if you promise to return it.”

Rus’s smile faltered. He shook his head and stood. “oh, no… that’s alright.” He exhaled, considering Edge. “well, i had better get going. and--next time you summon me at this ungodly hour, at least bring me some snacks.” He eyed Edge deliberately, and Edge conceded a small smile.

“I won’t forget, demon.”

“make sure that you don’t.” Rus looked thoughtful as he returned to the centre of the summoning circle, hesitating a moment, before saying, “and… i wouldn’t mind hearing that lovely voice you possess reciting poetry, or… the prince and the pauper.” Magic danced playfully in his eyes.

Edge stared at him briefly, flustered. “I… al-alright.”

The demon grinned, winking before disappearing with a crackle of magic. Edge slumped back in his chair, breathing deeply and shutting his eyes. He was tired, though making another attempt at sleep was daunting. But…

He looked down and found his hands had stopped shaking.


	3. Sweets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As it turns out, demons are big sweet-tooths.  
> (AKA: More tooth-rotting fluff)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small warning in the end notes. It's really nothing major--and in fact, I wouldn't really consider it a warning. I wanted to be safe though. (I've added it to the tags, too).

“you brought sweets!” Rus spoke before the flames had even dissipated, eyes glowing with delight.

Edge lifted a brow bone, glancing at the bowl of sherbet lemons he’d managed to acquire “Yes,” he said, sitting back in his armchair. “You mentioned that you liked them.”

“yeah, but i was just messing with you. i didn’t actually expect you to get any.” Rus was grinning. He walked towards Edge’s desk, but was brought to an abrupt halt at the edge of the circle. The magic ingrained into the chalk pattern shuddered as Rus pressed against the pentagram’s boundaries. “ah,” he said, as if he’d forgotten. “mind handing me a couple?”

Edge eyed him for a few moments before picking up the bowl. He approached the circle cautiously. He’d never been very close to the demon—except during their first encounter…

_Cowering behind the mighty creature’s legs and clinging to him as his eye socket wept sticky marrow…_

Edge took a deep breath and shook the thought, cautiously holding out the bowl. Rus studied him, tilting his head. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He took a step forward, reaching out, and instinctively, Edge pulled the bowl back. Rus’s smile grew to a grin. “are you afraid of me, monster?” he asked, and for the first time, Edge saw a mischief deeper than riddles and word games in his face.

“No,” he said firmly—though it only felt half true. Still, he placed the bowl on the floor and pushed it across the pentagram’s border. “But that doesn’t mean I trust you,” he added, sitting back down.

Rus took the bowl and popped a sweet into his mouth, humming as he sucked it. “touché,” he said, sitting cross-legged on the edge of the circle. “i am a demon after all. if you’re not careful, i could steal your soul.” Edge frowned and shifted in his seat, unsettled. But Rus was grinning, and after a moment, he broke into soft laughter. “you’re very amusing, you know. you take yourself far too seriously. it’s kind of endearing.”

“Is that why you come here?” Edge asked, dully. “To insult me and eat my sweets.”

“hey, _you’re_ the one who summoned _me_ ,” Rus reminded him, biting down on the sweet and pulling a face at the sour taste. He licked the sherbet off his teeth before taking another sweet from the bowl. “so why don’t you tell me why i’m here.”

Edge shrugged and adjusted himself in his chair, crossing his legs. “No reason… I just wanted to talk.” A part of him worried that a demon would have better things to do than talk to a lonely school teacher at this hour.

But Rus took the fact in stride, nodding as he placed a third sherbet lemon in his tongue—the same colour as the tips of his burnt horns, Edge noticed idly. “no bourbon today?” Rus asked.

“It’s a bit early for that,” Edge said, glancing out his bedroom window. The first orange glow of morning touched the sky. He had work in a few hours, but his thoughts often woke him up early. While typically, he’d use the opportunity to read his book or get some work done, today he’d felt… in need of company.

“what do you want to talk about then?” Rus asked. His mouth twitched and his eye-lights grew bright. “are you going to read to me?”

Strangely, this drew a rare smile from Edge. Seeing glee in the face of a creature so physically frightening was ironically intriguing. Sweet, even. “I could,” he said. “Anything on your mind?”

Rus considered. “hmm, what are my options?” He glanced at Edge’s bookshelf.

“You name it,” Edge said. “I have a library across the hall.”

Edge wasn’t sure he’d seen the demon look astonished before. The way his sockets widened and his jaw dropped looked amusingly out of place on his features. “you have a library?” he asked in bewilderment.

“A modest library,” Edge said. “But yes. I enjoy reading.”

“aloud?” Rus asked, grinning.

Edge conceded a laugh. “You have an odd fascination with my ability to storytell.”

Rus’s smile faltered slightly and he dropped his gaze, quickly placing another sherbet lemon in his mouth. “well, i would read them myself, but i… can’t.”

Edge frowned, confused. “What do you mean? I thought you said you loved reading.”

“i love the stories,” Rus said. “i can’t read them.”

“You mean, you can’t…?”

“i can’t read,” Rus said, shrugging.

Oh.

It made sense then. Rus’s eagerness for Edge to read to him—his reluctance to borrow one of Edge’s books for himself. In some ways, Edge found it sad; as an avid reader himself, being unable to lose oneself in the pages of a good story seemed a tragic loss to him.

Edge looked up as Rus stood and stretched, his skeletal wings shuddering before curling against his back. “thanks for the sweets, edge,” he said. He hesitated a moment, then crouched down to scoop up a handful of them, which he stored in his hoodie’s pocket. “until next time?” He phrased it as a question, almost uncertain of himself as he returned to the centre of the summoning circle.

“I could teach you to read,” Edge blurted, hurriedly, afraid Rus would disappear before he had the chance to say it. Rus paused, blinking. “I mean. If you want me to,” Edge added quietly, feeling sheepish.

“oh.”

“I am a teacher,” Edge reminded him, his voice growing ever softer. He frowned and began to click one of the pens on his desk, suddenly fidgety. “It’s… only an offer though.”

“thank you,” Rus said, still looking a little wrong-footed. “i’ll think about it.”

“Great!” Edge said, a little too eagerly. He cleared his throat when Rus smiled at him, lifting a brow bone. “I mean. Good. Until next time, then.”

Rus nodded. “until next time.” He hesitated a moment, then said, “oh, and—i’d still like to hear your voice. so don’t go losing it.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Edge said. Rus grinned, before flames of magic swallowed him, leaving only flakes of ash behind.

Edge bent to pick up the bowl of leftover sweets. The demon’s heat had melted them into a sticky mess against the side of the bowl. He grimaced. That was going to be a pain to wash.

After heading down the hall to the kitchen and placing the sticky bowl in the sink, Edge returned to his desk and opened his laptop. He needed to order more of those sherbet lemons from England before Rus’s next visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for illiteracy. It really seems silly now that I write it, but I felt like it might have come as an unwanted shock to some people.


End file.
